Power-operated drum carrier for industrial trucks



April 10, 1951 H. A. REINHART 2,

POWER-OPERATED DRUM CARRIER FOR INDUSTRIAL TRUCKS Filed Nov. 24, 1947 3 Sheets-Sheet l INVENTOR. flaw/120A Pew/MR7.

5 JNVENTOR. 17 I April 10, 1951 H. A. REINHART- ,0

POWER-OPERATED DRUM CARRIER FOR INDUSTRIAL TRUCKS Filed Nov. 24, 1.94: 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 Ham/w AjPfl/Vf/AFZ' BY ATTORNEY April 10, 1951 H. A. REINHART POWER-0PERATED DRUM CARRIER FOR INDUSTRIAL TRUCKS 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 Filed Nov. 24, 1947 INVENTOR. flOWARDAPE/JVH/IFZ' JZ'TOMH iatenteii Apr; 10, a

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE rowrelermi en main ine; Fort INDUSTRIAL TRUCKS v Howard A. Reinhart, San Francisco, Calif., as-

signer, by me's'ne' assignments, to Tray-Hart; In a corrora ionvof ewer e vf G r e D.- Cherry; First; National Bank of Jersey City, Jersey City, N.-J

ApplicatibnNoveiiiber 24, 1947, Serial N 6; 787,702 g tenths; (o1. iii-65) My present invention relates t6 article'h'anaccurate spottingthereof by a maneuvering of diing apparatus and more particularly to animthe lift truck. V V or proved attachment for power drivenvehicles Otherobjects and advantages of, the inven;

or the so-called lift type by which the plurality tiorr will be' in part evident to those skilled in of liquid carrying drums or other similar articles the'art and'in'part pointed out in the following may be picked up individually or in nested-groups description taken in connection with the accome and transported from one location to anotherin' panying drawings. wherein there is .shown by a ccnve'nient and eifi'cient manner. H I way of illustration and" not of limitation a p're- An object of the invention is to provide an ap fe'rred'" embodiment of" the invention.

paratus or attachment to a power driven vehicle In the drawings;

for transporting cylindrical drums and the like Figurie'lis a perspective view showing a; perwhich is an improvement upon the apparatus tion' of a conventional'lift' truck with my im for transportingcylindrical containers and the proved drum'lifting device mounted thereupon;

like" disclosed and claimed broadly inm'y c0- FigIire'Zis a planview'of thed'evice as'sho'wn pending application for patent serial No; 775,497, iii Figure' 1 of the'diawing's;

filed September 22, 1947. Figure" 3 is'an enlargedsectional"view taken Another object of the invention is to provide" along lin'e'I II III" ofFigu'r'e 2'lookin'g' in diree an apparatus for handling a plurality of liquid tionof arrows,

transporting drums or like cylindrical containers,- Figure" 4" is a" :fragmentary plan" iew at the which may be mounted upon a conventional lift detairshowma Figure3'oithedrawings; truck and in which the drums or cylindrical con-' Figure 5" is a erspective' view showing a pre tainers are handled in nested groups for trans ferried form of wedge, portation from one point to another Where they Figure; 6 i a" fragmentary perspective view are subsequently unloaded in the samenested illustratin unc'tional aspectof' the in'ventioii; relation. "REP-T8 7 vertical sectional View showing Another object of the invention is to provide a further details or construction; novel'form of' vertically movable frame" having a Figure" 8is' af' redueea ragmentary elevation a compartn'oentor'compartments'intewl'iichsevtak new lineVIIIj VIITof Figureilookine" eral articlestc betransportedare held by a novel mm df arraws; wedging means which is inherently adjustable 7 ig fi e 9' is a further rduce'dTrtint View ofthe' to insure a firm gripping and release of the qevi'ees' shown Mi igate llwithpjartslbroken articles disposed therein for transportation, awey teetear etansior ergstru non; arid Another object' or the invention is'to provide I F'i ref 10 isa rra mema y sectional view taken; a" means for transporting a plurality of metal a neXX of Figure '7 lookingin direction of drums from one position to another in whicha horizontally disposedframe having a compart ment or a plurality of compartments with gravity responsive gripping means, is mounted to ergtend outwardly at the front of a lift truck "so that it may be lowered over a nested group'of drums which upon a subsequent up'ward movementlo'f the frame will become operative to pick upa group of drums for'transportation to a distant point. l A further object of the invention is to provfide a means fortransporting a plurality of cylindrical drums from one position to another in which a reticulated horizontally disposed frame having" a plurality of compartments and gravity respon-' H i t ing 'm q e t tgsii 2 na e adr ms. u h a a s' j sive gripping means, is mounted to extend out- I i V I wardly at the front of a lift truck so that it may lu strated jdoesffenibody' be lowered over a ne'sted group of articles and" cla nerii 2h.a which is adapted and arranged to shift trans said co-pend 1t illillib 'found as versel'y of the-lift truck 'cnter to thus align tl'ie pti S that it self'with ane'st 0fdrums irhcurrequiring an bod es mahy other novel reatur whitii essarily required because of the nature and character of the articles or drums for the transportation of which it is primarily designed. In this figure of the drawings the numeral I9 designates the forward portion of an industrial truck of the socalled lift type having an elevator suspending column I I and a chain mechanism I2 with which an elevator unit not here visible is associated. Projectin outwardly and carried by the elevator unit upon the column II of the industrial truck I9, there is a rectangular frame I3 that is divided up into compartments by transversely extending partitions I4 and I5 which intersect at right angles to each other between the sides of the frame I3. At its truck engaging end the frame I3 has a relatively shallow housing I6 within which a novel suspension mechanism to be hereinafter described is enclosed. As indicated in this showing the frame I3 has four symmetrically arranged compartments which will accommodate an equal number of drums I'I, here indicated by dot and dash lines. Each of the compartments of the rectangular frame I3 are also here shown as having two wedging members I8 that are disposed in diagonally opposite corners thereof and between which the upper portion of a drum I1 is adapted to project when the rectangular frame I3 is lowered thereover as here shown. These wedges are also of novel construction and will be described in greater detail hereinafter. At this point it is important to note that the bottom edges at the outer sides of the rectangular frame I3 and the partitions l4 and I5 are scalloped or cut away, as at I9, to provide oppositely inclined and angularly disposed surfaces which will serve to guide the rectangular frame I3 downwardly over the drums I! in the event that the frame [3 should not be accurately spotted thereover prior to a lowering of the frame thereupon. To assist in this telescoping of the compartments of the rectangular frame I3 over the upper ends of a plurality of drums H, as here shown; the invention also contemplates a novel suspension between the frame I3 and the elevator unit which, as noted above, will be described later in detail.

With respect to the novel suspension of the rectangular frame I3 it may be here stated that this feature is designed to permit a limited free transverse movement of the frame I3 with respect to the center line of the truck I0. Therefore, with this freedom of transverse movement and the scalloped or inclined edges I9 at the sides of each of the compartments of the frame I3, it will be seen that an operator of the truck will not be required to so accurately spot the rectangular frame I3 over any group of drums as would be required were the bottom edges of the rectangular frame l3 unscalloped or disposed in a horizontal plane. In other words, with these scallops l9 it will be seen that should a drum be'positioned slightly outwardly beyond the outer walls of the frame at any point these scallops will have a tendency to either swing the frame over or draw the upper end of the drum into register with its particular compartment and at the same time with similar scallops in the partitions I4 and I5 it will be readily seen that these partitions will readily knife themselves downwardly between any two drums which may be in contact with each other. Under extreme conditions the operator may then by jogging his truck thus properly group any four drums for a final pick up and transportation to some distant point.

Upon now referring to Figure 2 of the drawings it will be seen that the compartments of the rectangular frame I3 are of a dimension only slightly larger than the diameter of the drums IT. The wedges I8 are also here shown as grouped in pairs at the diagonally opposite corners of the compartment so that a single pressure fluid conducting pipe may be employed to furnish fluid to two of these wedges at each oi. its four extending ends. As in the case of my prior devices, each of the wedges I8 are adapted to be raised against the action of gravity by suitable means, which in the present instance is a fluid under pressure which is admitted through a fluid pressure pipe that connect with a pressure fluid reservoir carried by the truck II]. With this arrangement the fluid under pressure admitted through the pipe 20 is conducted to the several wedges by means of branch pipe lines 2I which extend along the partitions I4 and I5. At their ends these pipe lines 2I branch out through connections 22 that communicate with a fluid pressure cylinder to be presently described. AS a support for the wedges I8 it will be here noted that at the point of intersection between the partitions I4 and I5 and the side walls of the rectangular frame I3 there are provided semi-conical webs 23 which are inclined outwardly toward their bottoms and form a curved diagonally disposed supporting surface upon which the wedges I8 may freely slide.

Reference is now made to Figures 3, 4 and 5 of the drawings for a more detailed description of the drum gripping or wedging means employed in this particular embodiment of my invention. As will be here seen the wedges I8 are of rectangular cross section and are disposed to extend diagonally from each ofthe corners of the particular compartment in which it is disposed. The curved or semi-conic wedge supporting plates'23 are also illustrated as extending between the adjacent meeting walls of the compartment. Each of these wedges are also shown as having a central downwardly extending slot 24 through which a pin 25 is extended from the underside and into the upper part of the wedge I8 where it is secured by set screws 26. At its projecting end and behind the wedge supporting plate 23 the pin 25 engages an eyelet 2! which is formed at the upper end of a vertically operating piston 28 that is carried by a cylinder 29. At its lower end the piston 28 has a sealing gasket 30 and at the lower end of the cylinder 29 there is a cylinder head 3| which carries a nipple for a flexible hose connection 32 that forms a continuation of a fluid pressure conducting pipe 33 which extends downwardly along the side of the partition I5 from one of the pipe lines 2|. To accommodate the pipe 33 there is a notch 34 which is cut in one side of the wedge supporting plate 23. In order that the cylinder 29 may oscillate or rock as the piston 28 operates the cylinder head BI is provided with a spherical end 35 which is seated in a recessed bracket 36 that extends diagonally between the two walls of the compartment at this point. The cylinder head 3| is also here shown as having an extension 31 that extends through an aperture in the bracket 36 where it is held against accidental displacement by a washer 38 and a pin 39. With this arrangement it will be seen that when fluid under pressure is admitted to the cylinder 29 the piston 28 will be raised into the position here shown and carry the wedge I3 upwardly and into an inoperative position. By the same token when fluid under pressure is withdrawn from the cylinder 29 the wedge I8 will be free to slide downwardly along its supporting plate 23 where after coming into contact with the up er end of a drum I? it will become operative to grip a drum whenever the rectangular frame it is raised relative thereto.

-In order to provide a good frictional engagement between the wedges l3 and an engaged drum ll, the vertical surfaces of the wedges are provided with a frictional facing ii] of leather, neoprene or soft rubber and to further facilitate a good gripping engagement with the side of a drum the wedges I8 may be provided with a slightly curved back surface where they engage with the supporting plates 23. With these two curved surfaces in abutting relation it will be readily seen that the wedges i8 will be free to rock about a substantially vertical and/or horizontal axis and thus a maximum area of the facing it will be brought into engagement with the engaged surface of the drum. This adjustability will also assure a firm gripping of a drum ll even though its engaged surface may be bent or dented out of cylindrical form. During the time the frame I3 is being lowered downwardly over a nest of drums ll it will be understood that the wedges it will be retracted and held in their elevated position, as shown in Figure 3 of the drawings, and only after the frame 13 has come asidesends these spaced links 5.6 each carry a secondcl vis 59 wh ch is se ure by mea of a in 60 o a beam 6| that i f r d a a pa of the 15- pe on. e os ng ousi g 16 p evi sly red to as formed at the truck engaging end of the mountings 64 for anti-friction rollers 65 which to a stop in its lowermostposition will the fluid pressure be. released from the cylinder 29 and thus permit the piston 23 and the wedges it to :4'

move downwardly along their supporting plates 23 and into engagement with the wall of a drum H, as here indicated by dot and dash lines.

In Figure 6 of the drawings there is illustrated by a fragmentary View the condition which might be encountered with my invention in the event that the drum carrying frame is is not spotted accurately ever any one of the drums H upon which it is being lowered. In this particular view the drum I? is illustrated as positioned outwardly beyond the inner surface of one of the compartments. Under these conditions, as the frame I 3 is lowered, the inclined or angularly disposed edges formed by the scallops or cut away portions IQ of the frame l3 will engage with the upper rim of the drum I'i. Then it will be readily seen that as the frame I3 moves downwardly with the inclined edges of its outer wall in engagement with the rim of the drum the frame l3 will tend to swing over so as to bring this particular drum accommodating compartment'into register with the drum ll disposed thereunder. V V V a In Figures '7, 8, 9 and 10 of the drawings there is illustrated a preferred construction for securing the rectangular drum transporting frame [3 to the elevator unit upon which it is to be mounted. In Figure 7-of the drawings the .elevator unit carried by the elevator supporting column ll, is shown in part and designated by the numeral M. This unit 4! carries a plurality of spaced bracket-like members 42 that engage, with a transversely extending shaft 43 to which the elevator controlling chains l2 of the elevator column H are attached. These spaced brackets 42 extend outwardly and upwardly at the upper part of the elevator unit dl and at their upper ends they carry transversely extending surface plates 44, the purpose of which will be hereinafter made clear. plates 52 and at spaced points at the upper part of the elevator unit 4| there are two transversely extending beams 55 from which two spaced downwardly depending links 55 are susnended'by means of a pin 51 and clevis '58. At their lower Associated with these surface will engage with the surface plates 44 provided at the upper ends of the spaced brackets 42. Within the housing I 6 thus formed there are several reinforcing beams 66, 61 and 68 and also various arranged vertical Webs 69 which impart stiffness to this part of the rectangular frame i3.

With this arrangement it will be seen that when the vertical extending links 56 are secured as here indicated between the beams carried by the elevator unit el and the beam t! at the bottom of the rectangular frame l3, the anti-friction roller at the upper end of the frame i3 will engage with thesurface plate id and thus support the frame 13 in its horizontal and normal operating position. Atv the same time because of' the parallel link motion provided by the two links .55 it will also be seen that the frame 13 will be free to swing transversely with respect to the elevator il whenever a force is exerted thereupon suflicient to displace the links 58 to either side of their normally vertical position. In this event the anti-friction roller 6'5 will track along with this transverse movement of the frame l3. In order to maintain the spaced vertically extending links 56 in proper operating condition between the rectangular frame l3 and the elevator Hi thefrarne I3 is likewise provided with a surface plate "H3 that is located outwardly and opposite a similar surface plate ll which is carried by the elevator unit 4|. These surface plates 70 and I! when disposed oppositely as hereinabove indicated will provide two opposed parallel surfaces between which a roller means carried by the links 56 may operate and in this way the lower part of the rectangular frame It will beheld outwardly and free of the elevator unit. 'While it is conceivable that a single roller or other form of anti-friction means might be interposed between these surface plates iii and '1] to retain a proper operating space for the links 56., there is here shown an anti-friction means in the form of two off-center anti-friction rollers 12 and 13 which are offset in a plane transverse to the plane of the surface plates iii and .l'L The roller i2 is carried by an eccentric sleeve H which is secured to the link 55 by a set screw or welding and the anti-friction roller is is simi larly secured upon the link 56 by an eccentric bushing 15. In this manner the roller 12 will roll upon the surface plate 1!! while the anti-friction roller 13 will roll along the surface plate it In order to prevent an abnormal transverse swinging of the rectangular frame I3 the housing It .is here shown as also having a vertical flange 15 pension links 56 will assume parallel vertical positions and when the rectangular frame i3 is caused toshift to one side or the other off center these suspension links .56 will swing a corresponding direction and in parallel relation to each other as illustrated in Figure 9 of the drawings. Under these latter conditions, except for a slight lifting, the rectangular frame [3 will in effect shift in a substantially horizontal line to the suspension links 56 are shown as approaching the limit in one of its directions of travel where the roller 12 will be stopped by engagement with the flange 16 at this end of the surface plate 10.

While I have, for the sake of clearness and in order to disclose the invention so that the same can be readily understood, described and illustrated specific devices and arrangements, I desire to have it understood that this invention is not limited to the specific means disclosed, but may be embodied in other ways that will suggest themselves to persons skilled in the art. It is believed that this invention is new and all such changes as come within the scope of the appended claims are to be considered as part of this invention.

.Having thus described my invention, what I claim and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

1. In a drum carrier of the character described, the combination of a frame having partitions forming a plurality of rectangular compartments with open bottoms into each of which the upper end of a liquid transporting drum may extend, said frame being adapted for mounting upon the elevating mechanismof a lift truck, whereby it may be raised and lowered over a number of vertically standing drums, a drum gripping means operatively mounted in each compartment of said frame, said frame being further characterized by the fact that its outer walls are scalloped to provide angularly disposed edges that will serve to guide the frame with its compartment forming partitions into telescoping relation over the upper ends of any drums upon which it may be lowered, and a movable support for securing said frame with limited freedom of lateral movement upon the elevating mechanism to a lift truck.

2. In a drum carrier of the character described, the combination of a rectangular frame having transversely extending partitions forming a plurality of compartments with an open bottom through which the upper end of a liquid transporting drum may extend, means for attaching said frame to the elevating mechanism of a lift truck with limited freedom of lateral movement, whereby said frame may move sidewise with respect to the center of the lift truck as it is lowered over a nest of vertically disposed drums, a gravity actuated wedging means operatively mounted in each compartment of said frame adapted to engage with a drum disposed therein when said frame is moved upwardly relative thereto, said frame being characterized by the fact that its outer walls are provided with a single scallop within the limits of each of its compartments to provide oppositely inclined edges along the under sides of each of said compartments which will serve to guide the compartment forming parti-' tions of said frame into telescoping relation over the ends of any drums upon which said frame is lowered.

3. In a drum carrier of the character described, the combination of a lift truck having a conven-' tional load lifting mechanism, a frame havin partitions forming a plurality of rectangular compartments with open bottoms carried by and extending horizontally outward from the load lifting mechanism of said lift truck, whereby said frame may be raised and lowered over a number of vertically disposed drums, and a wedging means in each of said compartments edapted to engage with a drum disposed therein and grip said drum when said frame is elevated relative thereto, said frame being characterized by the fact that its outer walls are scalloped to provide oppositely inclined edges at the sides of each of said compartments which will serve to guide the frame and the wedging means in each of its compartments into engaging relation with the ends of any drums upon which said frame may be lowered, and means for securing said frame to the elevating mechanism of said lift truck with freedom of lateral movement, whereby the scalloped portions in the forward and rear sides of said frame will operate to shift said frame laterally while the lift truck is maneuvered along its normal line of movement to align said frame with said drums.

4. In a drum lifting and transporting mechanism for use upon a lift truck, the combination of a horizontally extending rectangular frame having intersecting vertically disposed partitions extending thereacross and forming open bottom compartments into each of which the upper end of a liquid transporting drum may extend, a fixed Wedge supporting plate of semi-conic configuration secured in a corner of each of the compartments of said frame and providing an external semi-conic surface with its smaller diameter uppermost', a wedge having a curved surface generated about an axis extending at a right angle to the axis of the semi-conic surface of said wedge supporting plate and mounted for sliding movement upon each of said wedge supporting plates, said wedge being also adapted to move freely downward along said semi-conic surface under the influence of gravity to engage with the end of a liquid carrying drum when said frame is lowered thereover, and means for movingv and retaining said wedge in an elevated position and out of engagement with such a drum when it is desired to raise said frame out of engaging relation with said drums.

5. In a drum lifting and transporting mechanism for use with the elevating mechanism of a conventional lift truck, the combination of a horizontally extending rectangular frame having an open bottom compartment into which the upper end of a liquid carrying drum may extend as said frame is lowered thereover, a fixed wedge supporting plate of conic configuration secured in two diagonally opposite corners of said compartment, a wedge having a slightly curved rocker-like surface generated about an axis at a right angle to the axis of said conic supporting plate, said wedges being adapted to slide downwardly along their respective supporting plates under the influence of gravity and rock both vertically and horizontally to insure a full engagement and gripping of the side of a liquid carrying drum, and means disposed below said wedge supporting plates for raising and retaining said wedge in an elevated position, whereby said frame may be raised out of lifting relation with said drum.

6. An improved wedge type gripping means for a drum lifting and transporting device of the character described, comprising a rectangular frame having an open bottom compartment of a dimension which will accommodate a vertically disposed cylindrical drum therein, an angularly disposed web secured in diagonally opposite corners of said compartment and providing a wedge supporting surface of conic configuration, said web having a centrally located slot extending downwardly therealong, a wedge-like member having a curved web engaging surface the curvature of which is generated at a right angle at the curvature of the conic surface of said wedge supporting web and a drum engaging surface extending vertically within said compartment, a means carried by said wedge and extending through the slot in said wedge supporting web for securing said wedge thereupon, and a fluid pressure responsive means operating through said last means for raising and retaining said wedge in an elevated position to release a drum previously held in said compartment by said wedge.

7. An improved wedge type gripping means for a drum lifting and transporting'device of the character described, comprising a rectangular frame having an open bottom and dimensions which will accommodate the upper portion of a vertically disposed cylindrical drum, a diagonally disposed wedge supporting plate secured in a corner of said compartment, said plate being formed to provide a wedge supporting surface of curved configuration, a wedge-like member having a curved plate engaging surface the curvature of which is generated at a right angle to the curvature of the surface of said wedge supporting plate and a drum engaging surface extending vertically within said compartment, means for slidably securing said wedge upon said supporting plate, and a fluid pressure means for moving said wedge upwardly along said supporting plate to release a drum previously held in said compartment by said wedge.

8. In a drum carrier of the character described, the combination of a lift truck having a vertical elevator supporting column at the forward end thereof, an elevator unit mounted for vertical movement upon said elevator supporting column,

a rectangular frame having partitions forming a plurality of compartments with open bottoms into each of which the upper end of a liquid transporting drum may extend, said frame being disposed to extend outwardly in front of said lift ments that will serve to guide the compartments 9f said frame into telescoping relation over the ends of a nested group of drums upon which said frame may be lowered, an individually operating drum gripping means in each of said compartments, and means for attaching said frame to the elevator unit of the lift truck permitting a limited lateral movement of said frame independently of said elevator unit, whereby an alignment of the compartments of said frame into telescoping relation with said drums will be facilitated.

9. In a drum carrier of the character described, the combination of a lift truck having a vertical elevator supporting column at the forward end thereof, an elevator unit mounted for vertical movement upon said elevator supporting column having an outwardly disposed transversely extending guide rail at its upper edge, a rectangular frame having partitions forming a plurality of compartments with open bottoms into each of which the upper end of a liquid transporting drum may extend, said frame being disposed to extend outwardly in front of said lift truck and characterized by the fact that the outer walls of said frame are cut away to provide oppositely inclined edges at the sides of each of said compartments which .Will serve to guide the compartments of said frame into telescoping relation over the ends of 'a nested group of drums upon which said frame maybe lowered, an individually responsive gravity actuated drum gripping means mounted within each of said compartments, an overhanging bracket at the upper edge of said frame adapted to engage with the guide rail carried by said elevator unit, and a pair of vertically ex- REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

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